Wireless architecture for a traditional wire-based protocol

ABSTRACT

Embodiments are described in connection with transferring data traditionally communicated through a wired link over a high-speed wireless link. The disclosed embodiments provide the wired and/or wireless data communication with minimal changes on the existing wired architecture. According to an embodiment is an apparatus for communicating wirelessly over a traditional wired link. The apparatus includes a transmitter comprising a host and a first portion of a client connected by a wired link and a receiver comprising a second portion of the client. According to some embodiments, the apparatus can include a query module that determines an operation rate based in part on a rate supported by a medium access control and a retransmission statistic and an assigner module that assigns a communication to a wired protocol or a wireless protocol.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/809,068, filed May 26, 2006,entitled WIRELESS ARCHITECTURE FOR A TRADITIONAL WIRE-BASED PROTOCOL;Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/833,564, filed Jul. 26, 2006,entitled WIRELESS ARCHITECTURE FOR A TRADITIONAL WIRE-BASED PROTOCOL;and Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/833,565, filed Jul. 26, 2006,entitled WIRELESS ARCHITECTURE FOR A TRADITIONAL WIRE-BASED PROTOCOL,the entirety of these applications are incorporated herein by reference.This application is related to application Ser. No. __/____, filed Jan.18, 2007 (Atty. Docket No. 051262U2), entitled WIRELESS ARCHITECTURE FORA TRADITIONAL WIRE-BASED PROTOCOL that has the same filing date, sameinventors and same assignee as this application.

BACKGROUND

I. Field

The following description relates generally to communication systems andmore particularly to enabling traditional wire-based devices tocommunicate over a wireless link and/or a wired link.

II. Background

Wireless networking systems are utilized by many to communicate whereverthe user may be located at a particular time (e.g., home, office,traveling, . . . ). Wireless communication devices have become smallerand more powerful (e.g., increased functionality and/or applications,larger memory capacity) to meet user needs while improving portabilityand convenience. Users have found many uses for wireless communicationdevices including cellular telephones, personal digital assistants(PDAs) and the like. For example, wireless communication devices caninclude functionality to capture and process images (e.g., still images,moving images, video gaming, and the like).

Applications and/or functionalities that operate utilizing very highdata rates can have substantial power requirements and/or high currentlevels. Such power requirements and/or current levels are readilyavailable for devices that communicate utilizing a wired protocol.However, wireless communication systems may not have the capability tooperate utilizing the high data rates. Thus, the communication a userdesires to send and/or receive communication can be limited in somesituations.

Some devices have traditionally only operated in a wired capacity, suchas, for example, a Mobile Display Digital Interface (MDDI). Thus, a userhaving such a device may not be able to communicate while mobile and mayneed to expend further costs to obtain a wireless device, which may notalways be feasible. In some situations, a user may decide to operate twodevices, one with wired capacity and one with wireless capacity toachieve the benefits of both devices. However, the costs associated withtwo devices, as well as keeping track of both devices, might impose anundue burden on a user.

To overcome the aforementioned as well as other deficiencies, providedis a technique for allowing a traditionally wired-based protocol tocommunicate over either the wired architecture or a wirelessarchitecture. The disclosed techniques provide such flexibility withminimal changes to the wired architecture.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more embodimentsin order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of suchembodiments. This summary is not art extensive overview of the one ormore embodiments, and is intended to neither identify key or criticalelements of the embodiments nor delineate the scope of such embodiments.Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the describedembodiments in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detaileddescription that is presented later.

In accordance with one or more embodiments and corresponding disclosurethereof, various aspects are described in connection with transferringdata traditionally communicated through a wired link over a high-speedwireless link. The disclosed embodiments provide the wired and/orwireless data communication with minimal changes on the existing wiredarchitecture.

According to an embodiment is a method for determining an operate ratefor transferring data traditionally sent by a wired link over ahigh-speed wireless link. The method includes querying a host for anavailable application data rate and measuring a round trip delay rate. Aforward link rate and a reverse link rate are ascertained based on diemeasured round trip delay rate. An operation rate is computed based inpart on the ascertained forward link rate and reverse link rate. Theoperation rate can be communicated to a receiver (e.g., mobile device).Computing an operation rate can include determining whether the forwardlink rate or the reverse link rate is the lower rate and designatingthat lower rate as the operation rate. According to some embodiments,the computation can include comparing the forward link rate, the reverselink rate, the available application data rate of a host, and a maximumcapacity of a client to determine the lowest rate, which is assigned asthe operation rate. According to some embodiments, a minimum allowablerate is established and the operation rate is adjusted if it is belowthe minimum allowable rate.

According to another embodiment is a method for configuring atraditionally wired device to communicate either through a wiredprotocol or through a wireless protocol. The method includes placing afirst portion of a client on a sender, placing a second portion of theclient on a receiver, and providing wired functionality and wirelessfunctionality at the receiver. The method can include connecting thesender to a data source and interfacing the first portion of the clientto a host included on the sender with a wired link.

According to another embodiment is an apparatus for communicatingwirelessly over a traditional wired link. The apparatus includes atransmitter comprising a host and a first portion of a client connectedby a wired link and a receiver comprising a second portion of theclient. According to some embodiments, the apparatus can include a querymodule that determines an operation rate based in part on a ratesupported by a medium access control and a retransmission statistic andan assigner module that assigns a communication to a wired protocol or awireless protocol.

According to another embodiment is a mobile device for communicatingover a wired link or a wireless link. The mobile device includes meansfor receiving an operation rate for a communication, means forcommunicating over a wireless link, and means for communicating over awired link. The mobile device also includes means for selectivelydetermining whether to utilize the wireless link or the wired link basedin part on the received operation rate. According to some embodiments,the means for selectively determining whether to utilize the wirelesslink or the wired link based in part on the received operation rate canfurther determine whether to switch between the wireless link and thewired link.

According to another embodiment is method for communicating in alow-overhead mode through a wired or a wireless link. The methodincludes placing forward link data in a buffer, requestingunidirectional channel time allocations (CTAs) and sending the forwardlink data. According to some embodiments, the method can include placingreverse link data in a buffer, requesting reverse direction CTAs,sending the reverse link data and communicating data to a host in areverse encapsulation packet.

According to another embodiment is a method for communicating in alow-latency mode through either a wired link or a wireless link. Themethod includes requesting a CTA for m msec in a forward direction andfor n msec in a reverse direction and comparing the forward directionCTA to the reverse direction CTA. According to some embodiments, themethod includes sending reverse link data during CTAs reserved for areverse direction and deriving a time duration of a MAC frame.

According to another embodiment is a computer readable medium havingcomputer-executable instructions for contacting a host for anapplication data rate that the host provides and calculating a roundtrip delay. The instruction can include determining a forward link rateand a reverse link rate based in part on the calculated round trip delayand ascertaining an operation rate based in part on the determinedforward link rate and reverse link rate. According to some embodiments,the instructions include determining a lowest rate of the forward linkrate, the reverse link rate, the application data rate that the hostprovides, and a maximum capacity of a client. The determined lowest ratecan be designated as the operation rate and this rate can be sent to areceiver.

According to another embodiment is a processor that executesinstructions for communicating over a wired link or a wireless link. Theinstructions include receiving a communication operation rate andselectively determining whether to communicate over a wired link or awireless link based in part on the received communication operationrate.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, one or moreembodiments comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative aspects ofthe one or more embodiments. These aspects are indicative, however, ofbut a few of the various ways in which the principles of variousembodiments may be employed and the described embodiments are intendedto include all such aspects and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system for enabling atraditional wire-based device to communicate wirelessly.

FIG. 2 illustrates a system for extending the capabilities of atraditionally wired configuration to allow communication over a wirelesslink.

FIG. 3 illustrates a system for communicating through wired and/orwireless architectures.

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of a system for extendingtraditionally wired configurations to allow communication over awireless link.

FIG. 5 illustrates a system for communicating over a wired link or awireless link with a traditionally wired device.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary forward link MDDI data transfer inlow-overhead mode in accordance with the various embodiments presentedherein.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary reverse link MDDI data transfer inlow-overhead mode in accordance with the various embodiments presentedherein.

FIG. 8 illustrates a low-latency mode MDDI connection setup inaccordance with the various embodiments presented herein.

FIG. 9 illustrates a methodology for configuring a traditionally wireddevice to communicate through a wired protocol and/or a wirelessprotocol.

FIG. 10 illustrates a methodology for determining an operation rateaccording to the one or more disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 11 illustrates a methodology for communicating in low overhead modeaccording to the various embodiments presented herein.

FIG. 12 illustrates a methodology for communicating in low latency modeaccording to the various embodiments presented herein.

FIG. 13 illustrates a conceptual block diagram of a possibleconfiguration of a terminal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments are now described with reference to the drawings. Inthe following description, for purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of one or more aspects. It may be evident, however, thatsuch embodiment(s) may be practiced without these specific details. Inother instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in blockdiagram form in order to facilitate describing these embodiments.

As used in this application, the terms “component,” “module,” “system,”and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, eitherhardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, orsoftware in execution. For example, a component may be, but is notlimited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, anobject, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or acomputer. By way of illustration, both an application running on acomputing device and the computing device can be a component. One ormore components can reside within a process and/or thread of executionand a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributedbetween two or more computers. In addition, these components can executefrom various computer readable media having various data structuresstored thereon. The components may communicate by way of local and/orremote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or moredata packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with anothercomponent in a local system, distributed system, and/or across anetwork, such as the Internet with other systems by way of the signal).

Furthermore, various embodiments are described herein in connection witha user device. A user device can also be called a system, a subscriberunit, subscriber station, mobile station, mobile device, remote station,access point, base station, remote terminal, access terminal, handset,user terminal, terminal, user agent, or user equipment. A user devicecan be a cellular telephone, a cordless telephone, a Session InitiationProtocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a PDA, ahandheld device having wireless connection capability, or otherprocessing device(s) connected to a wireless modem.

Moreover, various aspects or features described herein may beimplemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture usingstandard, programming and/or engineering techniques. The term “articleof manufacture” as used herein is intended to encompass a computerprogram accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media.For example, computer readable media can include but are not limited tomagnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips. . . ), optical disks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk(DVD) . . . ), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick,key drive . . . ).

In the following detailed description, various aspects and embodimentsmay be described in the context of a Mobile Display Digital Interface(MDDI) and/or Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.15.3 medium access control. (MAC) layer. While these inventiveaspects may be well suited for use with the disclosed embodiments, thoseskilled in the art will readily appreciate that these inventive aspectsare likewise applicable for use in various other traditionally wirebased protocols. Accordingly, any reference to an MDDI and/or IEEE802.15.3 MAC is intended only to illustrate the inventive aspects, withthe understanding that such inventive aspects have a wide range ofapplications.

Various embodiments will be presented in terms of systems that mayinclude a number of components, modules, and the like. It is to beunderstood and appreciated that the various systems may includeadditional components, modules, etc. and/or may not include all of thecomponents, module etc. discussed in connection with the figures. Acombination of these approaches may also be used. In addition, thevarious systems can be implemented in a plurality of mobile devices(e.g., cellular phones, smart phones, laptops, handheld communicationdevices, handheld computing devices, satellite radios, globalpositioning systems, PDAs, and/or other suitable devices).

With reference now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagramof a system 100 for enabling a traditional wire-based device tocommunicate wirelessly. System 100 includes a transmitter 102 in wiredand/or wireless communication with a receiver 104. Transmitter 102 andreceiver 104 can be components that traditionally communicate over awire-based protocol. Although a number of transmitter(s) 102 andreceiver(s) 104 can be included in system 100, as will be appreciated, asingle transmitter 102 that transmits communication data signals to asingle receiver 104 is illustrated for purposes of simplicity.

The communication sent from transmitter 102 to receiver 104 is referredto as the forward link and the communication sent from receiver 104 totransmitter 102 is referred to as the reverse link. Transmitter 102 mayhe connected to a data source 106 (e.g., storage, memory, and the like)and receiver 104 may be connected to an interface device 108, such as adisplay.

System 100 can operate in at least two modes of operation, namely, a lowoverhead mode and/or a low latency mode. Low overhead mode optimizes apacket sent over the air (e.g., wirelessly) by requesting channelallocation time(s), which is the time for data to be sent from eitherdirection (from sender to receiver or from receiver to sender). In lowlatency mode, the channel allocation time(s) can be determined based onknowledge of the data included in both the forward link and the reverselink.

Transmitter 102 can be configured to ascertain a forward link rate andreverse link rate based on various criteria (e.g., round trip delaymeasurements). Transmitter 102 can send at least one reverse linkencapsulation packet every frame. The reverse link encapsulation packetcan be used to accommodate the transfer of reverse packets over thetransfer link, creating the reverse link.

Receiver 104 can be configured to receive and/or send data communicationthrough a wired functionality and/or a wireless functionality. Thedetermination of which functionality to utilize can be based on variouscriteria including type of data (e.g., voice, text, image, . . . ), thetraditional method of communicating the data (e.g., wired link orwireless link), the size of the file or packet being transmitted, aswell as other criteria relating to the data, the sender, and/or thereceiver. Transmitter 102 can communicate the data without knowledge ofhow receiver 104 is receiving the data (e.g., wired or wireless).

FIG. 2 illustrates a system 200 for extending the capabilities of atraditionally wired configuration to allow communication over a wirelesslink. System 200 includes a transmitter 202 that communicates with areceiver 204 over a forward link. Receiver 204 communicates with thetransmitter 202 over a reverse link. Transmitter 202 and receiver 204can be devices that generally communicate over a wired protocol,however, system 200 allows such devices to communicate over the wiredprotocol and/or over a wireless protocol, such as over a high-speedwireless link. Although a number of transmitter(s) 202 and receiver(s)204 can be included in system 200, as will be appreciated, a singletransmitter 202 that transmits communication data signals to a singlereceiver 204 is illustrated for purposes of simplicity.

Transmitter 202 can include a host 206, a portion of a client (C1) 208,and a communication component 210. Host 206 can be an MDDI host, forexample. In some embodiments, host 206 can be a component separate fromtransmitter 202 and connected to transmitter 202 through a wired link. Aportion of client (C1) 20S is kept on or in communication with host 206for clock synchronization. Client (C1) 208 can be connected to host 206through a traditional wired link (e.g., MDDI link), for example. Host206 can be configured to send or communicate packets of data to client(C1) 208. These packets can be communicated to receiver 204 throughcommunication component 210, which can include a modem, such as an ultrawide band (UWB) modem. Some packets (e.g., MDDI round-trip delaymeasurement packet) are processed by client (C1) 208 and communicated toreceiver 204. Other packets (e.g., filler packets) should be dropped byclient (C1) 208 and not communicated to receiver 204. That is to say,some packets should not be transmitted on either the forward wirelesslink or the reverse wireless link. A filler packet, for example,maintains timing between transmitter 202 and receiver 204. Such packetscan be generated by either transmitter 202 or receiver 204 throughrespective client portions.

Receiver 204 can include an interface device 212 (e.g., display), aportion of client (C2) 214, and a communication component 216. In someembodiments, the device 212 can be a component separate from thereceiver 204 and connected to the receiver 204 through, for example, awired link. Client (C2) 214 can be connected to device 212 through awired link. Client (C2) 214 can be configured to process a packetreceived from transmitter 202. Receiver 204 can receive thecommunication from transmitter 202 through communication component 216that can include, for example, an UWB modem.

System 200 can be configured to operate in one of two modes ofoperation. These modes include a low overhead mode and a low latencymode. In low overhead mode, client (C1) 208 places the data to be sent,excluding for example, fill packets and round trip delay packets, in abuffer that can be included on the communication component 210 (e.g.,UWB modem). The communication component 210, through a UWB MAC, forexample, can periodically request unidirectional channel timeallocations (CTA) from transmitter 202 to receiver 204 based on the sizeof the buffer. In a reverse direction (e.g., reverse link), client (C2)214 can place the reverse link data that it wants to send, excludingfiller packets, for example, in a buffer associated with communicationcomponent 216 (e.g., UWB modem). In the reverse direction, thecommunication component 216 can request reverse-direction CTAs.

For low latency mode, during an initialization phase, communicationcomponent 210 (e.g., UWB modem) can request a CTA for m msec in theforward direction and a CTA for n msec in the reverse direction. Theexpected ratio of traffic in the forward and reverse, directions is m:nand m sec is the duration corresponding to a forward link transfer rateof R_(f-mddi). T is a superframe duration, which is determined by thelatency constraints of the application where:

(m+n)<T _(CTAP) <T

With reference now to FIG. 3, illustrated is a system 300 forcommunicating through wired and/or wireless architectures. System 300includes a transmitter 302 and a receiver 304 that communicate over aforward link (from transmitter 302) and/or a reverse link (from receiver304). The communication over the forward link and/or reverse link can beover a wired protocol and/or over a wireless protocol depending on theparticular situation (e.g., data to be transmitted, data rates, qualityof communication link, status of each device, . . . ). Although a numberof transmitter(s) 302 and receiver(s) 304 can be included in system 300,as will be appreciated, a single transmitter 302 that transmitscommunication data signals to a single receiver 306 is illustrated forpurposes of simplicity.

Transmitter 302 can include a host component 306 connected to a client(C1) component 308 and a communication component 310. Receiver 304 caninclude a device 312 connected to a client (C2) component 314 and acommunication component 316. Client (C1) component 308 and client (C2)component 314 are respective portions of a client.

It will be understood by persons having ordinary skill in the art thattransmitter 302 and/or receiver 304 can include additional components.For example, transmitter 302 can include an encoder component (notshown) that can modulate and/or encode signals in accordance with asuitable wireless communication protocol which signals can then betransmitted to receiver 304. In some embodiments, encoder component canbe a voice coder (vocoder) that utilizes a speech analyzer to convertanalog waveforms into digital signals or another type of encoder.Suitable wireless communication protocols can include, but are notlimited to. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM),Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing Access (OFDMA), Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications (GSM), High-Speed Downlink PacketAccess (HSDPA), and the like.

Receiver 304 can include a decoder component (not shown) that can decodea received signal and/or data packet therein for processing. Uponsuccessful decode of a data packet, an acknowledgment component (notshown) can generate an acknowledgment that indicates successful decodeof the data packet, which can be sent to transmitter 302 to informtransmitter 302 that the data packet was received and decoded, andtherefore need not be retransmitted.

Host component 306 can include a query module 318 and a measurementmodule 320. Query module 318 can be configured to query a host mediumaccess control (MAC) for an application data rate that the MAC provides.For wireless communication, the operation rate may depend upon the rateof the wireless link. Measurement module 320 can be configured todetermine the forward link rate and the reverse link rate based on, forexample, a round trip delay measurement, which may be specified in thewireless protocol. In some embodiments, the wireless operation rate canbe determined by the minimum of the two rates (forward link rate andreverse link rate), the maximum capacity of host 306, and the maximumcapacity of client (C1) 308. There should be a minimum allowable rateR_(min). If the measured operation rate is below this minimum allowablerate, the operation rate can be adjusted by transmitter 302 and/orreceiver 304 through respective components (e.g., communicationcomponents 310 and/or 316). Transmitter 302 can notify receiver 304 therate at which the communication will be processed.

Client (C2) component 314 can include a notifier module 322 that can beconfigured to notify transmitter 302 the application data rate that theMAC provides. Such notification can be based on a query received fromtransmitter 302 (e.g., a query sent by query module 318). For reverselink packets, notifier module 322 can specify the number of bytes neededby receiver 304 to send on the reverse link in the current frame. Client(C2) component can also include an assigner module 324 that can beconfigured to assign a communication to a wired protocol or a wirelessprotocol depending on various parameters associated with a communication(e.g., communication type, rate of communication, sender, receiver, andthe like).

Communication component 316 can include a wired module 326 and awireless module 328. The wired module 326 can be configured to providewired functionality and the wireless module 328 can be configured toprovide wireless functionality. A determination can be made whether tocommunicate wirelessly utilizing the wireless module 328 or tocommunicate utilizing the wired module 326. Such a determination can bebased on a variety of factors including the operation rate, the type ofdata being transmitted (e.g., voice, text, image, . . . ), the size ofthe data or files being transmitted, if the data is typicallycommunicated over a wired link or a wireless link, etc. Wired module 326and/or wireless module 328 can include a buffer for storing content sothat if a change is made during a communication from one module to theother module (e.g., wireless to wired, wired to wireless) communicationis not lost due to switchover issues.

Information about whether the receiver 304 is communicating over a wiredlink or wireless link does not need to be communicated to transmitter302. Transmitter 302 performs its functions in substantially the sameway regardless of the communication method (wired or wireless).

According to some embodiments, transmitter 302 can include a componentconfigured to fragment a sub-frame (not shown) and receiver 304 caninclude a component configured to reassemble the sub-frame (not shown).The maximum length of a MDDI sub-frame, for example, can be about 65,536bytes, although it is generally smaller. The maximum size of an 802.15.3MAC frame can be approximately 4,096 or around 8,192 bytes, if theunderlying rate is about 480 Mbps. The size can be around 2,048 bytes ifthe underlying physical layer rate is approximately 200 Mbps. Thus, thesub-frame may need to be fragmented on the transmitter 302 side andreassembled on the receiver 304 side to accommodate the size of theframe. Such fragmenting and reassembly can be performed by respectivecommunication components 310 and 316 and/or other components associatedwith transmitter 302 and receiver 304.

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of a system 400 for extendingtraditionally wired configurations to allow communication over awireless link. System 400 can include a transmitter 402 that includes ahost 406, a portion of a client (C1) 408, and a communication component410. System 400 can also include a receiver 404 that includes a device412, a portion of a client (C2) 414, and a communication component 416.Transmitter 402 communicates to receiver 404 over a forward link andreceiver 404 communicates to transmitter 402 over a reverse link. Asnoted previously with regard to the above figures, although a number oftransmitter(s) 402 and receiver(s) 404 can be included in system 400, asingle transmitter 402 that transmits communication data signals to asingle receiver 404 is illustrated for purposes of simplicity.

System 400 can include a memory 418 operatively coupled to receiver 404.Memory 418 can store information related to a data rate for a packetand/or a packet type (e.g., application data rate provided by MAC,operation rate of the wireless link, . . . ). mode of operation for apacket and/or packet type, and/or other parameters associated withtransmitting data over a wireless protocol, over a wired protocol, or acombination of these protocols. For example, a wired protocol can beused for a communication and a decision can be made to switch to awireless protocol during the communication, or vice versa, withoutinterruption or termination.

A processor 420 can be operatively connected to receiver 404 (and/ormemory 418) to facilitate analysis of information related toascertaining whether a particular communication should be sent over awired protocol or a wireless protocol Processor 420 can be a processordedicated to analyzing and/or generating information communicated toreceiver 404, a processor that controls one or more components of system400, and/or a processor that both analyzes and generates informationreceived by receiver 404 and controls one or more components of system400.

Memory 418 can store protocols associated with data communication rates,operation rates, taking action to control communication between receiver404 and transmitter 402, etc., such that system 400 can employ storedprotocols and/or algorithms to achieve improved communication in awireless network as described herein. It should be appreciated that thedata store (e.g., memories) components described herein can be eithervolatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile andnonvolatile memory. By way of example and not limitation, nonvolatilememory can include read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM),electrically programmable ROM (EPRGM), electrically erasable ROM(EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can include random accessmemory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of example andnot limitation, RAM is available in many forms such as synchronous RAM(DRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rateSDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), anddirect Rambus RAM (DRRAM). Memory 418 of the disclosed embodiments areintended to comprise, without being limited to, these and other suitabletypes of memory.

FIG. 5 illustrates a system 500 for communicating over a wired link or awireless link with a traditional wired device. System 500 is representedas functional blocks, which can be functional blocks that representfunctions implemented by a processor, software or combination thereof(e.g., firmware). System 500 includes a receiver 502 that can beconfigured to receive an operation rate for a communication. Thisoperation rate can be received from, for example, a sender or a senderhost. The operation rate can set up or establish the rate ofcommunication in both a forward direction and a reverse direction.System 500 also includes a wireless communicator 504 that can beconfigured to send and/or receive a communication over a wirelessprotocol. A wired communicator 506 can be configured to send and/orreceive a communication over a wired protocol.

It should be noted that in a forward and/or a reverse direction theremay be packet extensions and/or new packets. For example, in a forwarddirection MDDI sender information can be added to a packet. This packetextension can provide an MDDI client on the receiver end with MDDIsender side information. This information can include the rate at whichthe MDDI host and client should operate on the sender side. In thereverse direction, extensions to a client capability packet can includeabout four bytes for MDDI receiver MAC information and around two bytesfor MDDI receiver client information, however other extensions are alsopossible.

Also included in system 500 is a determiner that can selectivelydetermine whether to utilize the wireless communicator to communicateover the wireless protocol or whether to utilize the wired communicatorto communicate over the wired protocol. Such a determination can beselectively made based on various parameters, such as the communicationoperation rate. Other parameters can also be analyzed to make thedetermination. For example, the determination can be made based on howthe particular communication has been traditionally sent and/or received(e.g., historical analysis), the type of communication (e.g., voice,image, text, . . . ), as well as other parameters relating to thecommunication, the sender, and/or the receiver.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary forward link MDDI data transfer 600 inlow-overhead mode in accordance with the various embodiments presentedherein. One type of mode for an MDDI sender 602 to send data to an MDDIreceiver 604 can be a low overhead mode. In this mode, a packet sentwirelessly is optimized for channel allocation time, which is the timeit takes for data to be sent from either direction (e.g., forward orreverse). MDDI sender 602 can include a portion of a client (C1) 606 andMDDI receiver 604 can include a portion of the client processing (C2)608.

An MDDI client (C1) 606 can place the data to be sent in a buffer, suchas on a UWB modem. The data to be sent should exclude unnecessarypackets, such as fill packets and round trip delay packets, for example.The MDDI data is sent to a sender MAC 610, as illustrated at 612. SenderMAC 610 (or UWB MAC) may periodically or continuously request at leastone CTA from MDDI sender 602 to MDDI receiver 604 based on, for example,the size of the buffer.

Sender MAC 610 can request, at 614, forward link CTAs (e.g.,periodically or continuously) from a piconet controller (PNC) MAC 616.PNC MAC 616 can respond to sender MAC 610 with a channel time responsecode at 618. This response code can indicate whether the data has beencommunicated successfully. After a successful channel time response codeis received, sender MAC 610 can send the MDDI data to a receiver MAC620, as indicated at 622.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary reverse link MDDI data transfer 700 inlow-overhead mode in accordance with the various embodiments presentedherein. An MDDI receiver 702 can initiate, over a reverse link,communication intended for an MDDI sender 704. MDDI receiver 702 caninclude a portion of client (C2) 706 and MDDI sender 704 can include aportion of client (C1) 708.

MDDI receiver 702 can send MDDI data to a receiver MAC 710, as indicatedat 712. Receiver MAC 710 can request from a PNC MAC 714 reverse linkCTAs, at 716. The request can correspond to the data that should be sentin the reverse direction. PNC MAC 714 can respond, at 718, with achannel time response code. Receiver MAG 710 can, at 720, send MDDI datain CTAs to sender MAC 722. As indicated at 724, sender MAC 722 may havesent or given MDDI data to client (C1) 708, at 724, at some time beforeor at substantially the same time as receiving the MDDI data fromreceiver MAC 710. A MDDI sender host 726 can send and/or receive atleast one reverse link encapsulation every frame, as indicated at 728and 730. The reverse link data can be sent proactively, without waitingfor a data request. The client can specify the number of bytes it needsto send on the reverse link in the current frame. The host 726 cancorrespondingly allocate the request in the reverse link encapsulationpacket.

FIG. 8 illustrates, a low-latency mode MDDI connection setup 800 inaccordance with the various embodiments presented herein. In low-latencymode, channel allocation time can be ascertained based on an inferencederived from data contained in packets in both the forward direction andthe reverse direction. A MDDI sender 802 can include a host 804 and aportion of a client (C1) 806. During an initialization phase, a UWBmodem on the sender 802 can send a MAC query, at 810, to a sender MAC808. A MAC query is a query sent to find out the rate supported by theMAC and retransmission statistics. Sender MAC 808 can respond to thequery at 812. This response can be a MAC response that indicates therate supported by the MAC retransmission statistics.

Sender 802 requests a CTA setup 814 for m msec in the forward directionand a CTA for n msec in the reverse direction. The expected ratio oftraffic in the forward and reverse directions should be m:n. At 816, achannel time request (CTRq) is sent to a PNC Mac 818. A channel timeresponse code can be sent in the reverse direction, shown at 820, and inthe forward direction, shown at 822 and sent to a receiver MAC 824. MDDIsender 802 can begin an MDDI transfer, as illustrated at 826.

The duration corresponding to the MDDI forward link transfer rate ofR_(f-mddi) is m sec, and when T is the super-frame duration determinedby the latency constraints of the application, the following formulaapplies:

m+n<T _(CTAP) <T

In the low latency mode, the reverse link data can be sent during theCTAs reserved in the reverse direction. Depending on the time of arrivalof reverse link data in relation to the MAC super frame, the transfercan have a maximum latency expressed as:

T _(r1) =ceil[{k*(N/R ₁ +RIFS+H/R ₂)+SIFS+T _(ACK) }/n]*T

where k is the average number of retransmissions experienced by a MACframe. N is the size of the reverse link packet that should be sent andn is the reverse link CTA duration in each super frame. R₁ is thephysical layer transmission rate of the MDDI data (MAC payload). R₂ isthe physical layer transmission rate of the PHY, MAC headers and thepreamble. H is the size of the MAC plus the size of PHY header plus thesize of preamble. SIFS is the short inter-frame spacing duration. RIFSis the retransmission inter-frame spacing duration. T_(ACK) is theduration of transmission of the ACK. T is the super-frame duration. Forexplanation purposes, it is assumed that the ACK policy is Imm-ACK. Thelatency of the forward link packets, T_(ft), can be determinedaccordingly. Given the application latency constraints in forward andreverse links, the time duration of the MAC frame can be derivedaccordingly. For example, various algorithms, methods, and/or techniquescan be employed to derive the time duration of the MAC frame and/or thelatency of the forward link packets.

In view of the exemplary systems shown and described above,methodologies, which may be implemented in accordance with one or moreembodiments presented herein, will be better appreciated with referenceto the diagram of FIGS. 9-12. While, for purposes of simplicity ofexplanation, the methodologies are shown and described as a series ofacts (or function, blocks), it is to be understood and appreciated thatthe methodologies are not limited by the order of acts, as some actsmay, in accordance with these methodologies, occur in different ordersand/or concurrently with other acts from that shown and describedherein. Moreover, not all illustrated acts may be required to implementthe following methodologies. It is to be appreciated that the variousacts may be implemented by software, hardware, a combination thereof orany other suitable means (e.g. device, system, process, component) forcarrying out the functionality associated with the acts. It is also tobe appreciated that the acts are merely to illustrate certain aspectspresented herein in a simplified form and that these aspects may beillustrated by a lesser and/or greater number of acts. Those skilled Inthe art will understand and appreciate that a methodology couldalternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states orevents, such as in a state diagram.

With reference now to FIG. 9, illustrated is a methodology 900 forconfiguring a traditionally wired device to communicate through a wiredprotocol and/or a wireless protocol. At 902, a first portion of a clientis placed on an MDDI sender. The MDDI sender can be wireless and can beconnected to a data source. The MDDI sender can also include an MDDIhost connected or interfaced to the client portion by, for example, atraditional wired MDDI link.

At 904, a second portion of the client is placed on an MDDI receiver,which can be a wireless MDDI receiver. The MDDI receiver can beconnected to a device, which can be, for example, a display. The portionof the client placed on the MDDI sender and the portion of the clientplaced on the MDDI receiver are distinct portions of the same client. Itshould be noted that the respective portions of the client can beportions implemented by a processor, software or combination thereof(e.g., firmware).

Both a wired functionality and a wireless functionality are provided, at906. This functionality is included on the MDDI receiver, enabling theMDDI receiver to communicate through the wired functionality, thewireless functionality, or both functionalities.

By way of example and not limitation, an MDDI receiver can be a mobiledevice that may receive a communication, such as a movie that isdisplayed on a CRT screen or display. The mobile device may also beconnected to a wall-mounted display, allowing the movie to be displayedon the wall so that others can view the imagery. If the mobile device ismulti-functional, it can broadcast the movie on the display and can atsubstantially the same time receive or send a voice communication,different from the voice communication associated with the movie. Thus,a user of the mobile device may conduct a communication separate fromthe movie. An example where this might be utilized is when a user'schildren are watching a movie and the user wants to answer the phone andwalk away. Thus, the movie can be displayed through a wiredfunctionality and at substantially the same time the user cancommunicate through the wireless functionality.

FIG. 10 illustrates a methodology 1000 for determining an operation rateaccording to the one or more disclosed embodiments. In a wireless MDDI,for example, the MDDI operation rate depends, in part, on the rate ofthe wireless link. The method 1000 for determining an operation ratebegins, at 1002, where a host MAC is queried for an availableapplication data rate (e.g., the application data rate that the MACprovides). The query can be requested by an MDDI host, for example.

At 1004, a round trip delay is measured. The round trip delaymeasurement can be utilized, at 1006, to determine or ascertain aforward link rate and a reverse link rate. According to someembodiments, the round trip delay measurement can be specified in awired MDDI protocol that should be used.

An operation rate is computed at 1008. The operation rate can becomputed based in part by comparing the forward link rate and thereverse link rate and determining which is the minimum of the two rates.The minimum of these two rates can be designated as the operation rate.In some embodiments, the minimum of these two rates (forward link rateand reverse link rate) can further be compared to both the maximumcapacity of an MDDI host and the maximum capacity of an MDDI client(C1). The minimum or lowest rate based on this comparison is assigned asthe operation rate.

There should be a minimum allowable rate R_(min), which can beestablished or predetermined based on communication parameters. If thecomputed operation rate is lower than the minimum allowable rate,adjustments can be made to increase the rate. At 1010, the operationrate is communicated or sent to a receiver (e.g., MDDI receiver) tonotify the receiver the rate at which the communication will proceed.

In the above methodology 1000, for example, a transmitter can query thehost MAC through a query module. The transmitter can further measure theround trip delay, ascertain forward and reverse link rate, and computethe operation rate utilizing a measurement module. The transmitter canalso send the operation rate to the receiver utilizing a communicationcomponent. It should be understood that the above are for examplepurposes only and other components can be utilized in connection withthe one or more embodiments presented herein.

Referring now to FIG. 11, illustrated is a methodology 1100 forcommunicating in low overhead mode according to the various embodimentspresented herein. The forward link is shown on the left side of thefigure and the reverse link is shown on the right side of the figure.

At 1102, forward link data is placed in a buffer. Excluded from the dataplaced in the buffer can be unnecessary data such as fill packets and/orround trip delay packets. This data can be placed in the buffer by anMDDI client (C1) on an MDDI sender, for example. At 1104, unidirectionalCTAs are requested (e.g., periodically or continuously). An UWB MAC canrequest this information from the MDDI sender to a receiver based on,for example, the size of the buffer. The forward link data can be sent,at 1106.

In the reverse direction, a host sends at least one reverse linkencapsulation packet every frame. A client (e.g., receiver) can specifythe number of bytes that should be sent on the reverse link in thecurrent frame. The host (e.g., sender) can allocate the request in areverse link encapsulation packet. At 1108, reverse link data thatshould be sent is placed in a buffer by, for example, an MDDI client(C2). The buffer can be located on a UWB modem of an MDDI receiver. Arequest for reverse direction CTAs is sent, at 1110, by, for example, anUWB modem on the MDDI receiver side. The request can be for those CTAsin the reverse direction corresponding to the data that should be sentin the reverse direction.

An MDDI client on the receiver (C2) can send reverse link data to theclient on the sender (C1) proactively, at 1112. As illustrated, at 1114,an MDDI client on the sender (C1) sends the data it has to the MDDI hostin the reverse encapsulation packet.

FIG. 12 illustrates a methodology 1200 for communicating in low latencymode according to the various embodiments presented herein. The forwardlink is shown on the left side of the figure and the reverse link isshown on the right side of the figure. During an initialization phase inlow latency mode, a UWB modem on the sender, for example, requests, at1202, a CTA for m msec in the forward direction. At 1204, a CTA requestfor n msec is sent in the reverse direction. A comparison of the forwardand reverse CTAs received in response to the requests is made, at 1206.The expected ratio of traffic In the forward and reverse directions ism:n. It should be noted that m msec is the duration corresponding to theMDDI forward link transfer rate of R_(f-mddi) and:

(m+n)<T _(CTAP) <T

where T is the super-frame duration, which can be determined by thelatency constraints of the application.

In the reverse direction during a low latency mode, the reverse linkdata is sent, at 1208, during the CTAs reserved in the reversedirection. At 1210, a time duration of the MAC frame can be derived fromthe application latency constraints in the forward and reverse links. Inthe following equation, k is the average number of retransmissionsexperienced by a MAC frame. N is the size of the reverse link packetthat should be sent and n is the reverse link CTA duration in each superframe. R₁ is the physical layer transmission rate of the MDDI data (MACpayload). R₂ is the physical layer transmission rate of the PHY, MACheaders and the preamble. H is the size of the MAC and the size of PHYheader and the size of the preamble. SIFS is the short inter-framespacing duration. RIFS is the retransmission inter-frame spacingduration. T_(ACK) is the duration of transmission of the ACK and T isthe super-frame duration. For explanation purposes, it is assumed thatthe ACK policy is Imm-ACK. The latency of the forward link packets,T_(fl), can be determined accordingly utilizing various algorithms,methods, and/or techniques. Depending on the time of arrival of reverselink data in relation to the MAC super frame, the transfer can have amaximum latency expressed as:

T _(ri) =ceil[{k*(N/R ₁ +RIFS+H/R ₂)+SIFS+T _(ACK) }/n*T

With reference now to FIG. 13, illustrated is a conceptual block diagramof a possible configuration of a terminal 1300. As those skilled in theart will appreciate, the precise configuration of the terminal 1300 mayvary depending on the specific application and the overall designconstraints. Processor 1302 can implement the systems and methodsdisclosed herein.

Terminal 1300 can be implemented with a front-end transceiver 1304coupled to an antenna 1306. A base band processor 1308 can be coupled tothe transceiver 1304. The base band processor 1308 can be implementedwith a software based architecture, or other type of architectures. Amicroprocessor can be utilized as a platform to run software programsthat, among other functions, provide control and overall systemmanagement function. A digital signal processor (DSP) can be implementedwith an embedded communications software layer, which runs applicationspecific algorithms to reduce the processing demands on themicroprocessor. The DSP can be utilized to provide various signalprocessing functions such as pilot signal acquisition, timesynchronization, frequency tracking, spread-spectrum processing,modulation and demodulation functions, and forward error correction.

Terminal 1300 can also include various user interfaces 1310 coupled tothe base band processor 1308. User interfaces 1310 can include a keypad,mouse, touch screen, display, ringer, vibrator, audio speaker,microphone, camera and/or other input/output devices.

The base band processor 1308 comprises a processor 1302. In asoftware-based implementation of the base band processor 1308, theprocessor 1302 may be a software program running on a microprocessor.However, as those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, theprocessor 1302 is not limited to this embodiment, and may be implementedby any means known in the art, including any hardware configuration,software configuration, or combination thereof, which is capable ofperforming the various functions described herein. The processor 1302can be coupled to memory 1312 for the storage of data.

It is to be understood that the embodiments described herein may beimplemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, orany combination thereof. When the systems and/or methods are implementedin software, firmware, middleware or microcode, program code or codesegments, they may be stored in a machine-readable medium, such as astorage component. A code segment may represent a procedure, a function,a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a softwarepackage, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures,or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another codesegment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information,data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments,parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted usingany suitable means including memory sharing, message passing, tokenpassing, network transmission, etc.

What has been described above includes examples of one or moreembodiments. It is, of course, not possible to describe everyconceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes ofdescribing these embodiments, but one of ordinary skill in the art mayrecognize that many further combinations and permutations of suchembodiments are possible. Accordingly, the embodiments described hereinare intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, andvariations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in eitherthe detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to beinclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising”is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.

1. A method for determining an operation rate for transferring datatraditionally sent by a wired link over a high-speed wireless link,comprising: querying a host for an available application data rate;measuring a round trip delay rate; ascertaining a forward link rate anda reverse link rate based on the measured round trip delay rate; andcomputing an operation rate based in part on the ascertained forwardlink rate and reverse link rate.
 2. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising communicating the operation rate to a receiver.
 3. The methodof claim 1 computing an operation rate, further comprising: determiningwhether the forward link rate or the reverse link rate is the lowerrate; and designating the lower rate as the operation rate.
 4. Themethod of claim 1 computing an operation rate, further comprising:comparing the forward link rate, the reverse link rate, the availableapplication data rate of the host, and a maximum capacity of a client todetermine the lowest rate; and assigning the lowest rate as theoperation rate.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:establishing a minimum allowable rate; and adjusting the operation rateif it is below the minimum allowable rate.
 6. The method of claim 1, theavailable application data rate is the maximum capacity of the host. 7.A method for configuring a traditionally wired device to communicateeither through a wired protocol or through a wireless protocol,comprising: placing a first portion of a client on a sender; placing asecond portion of the client on a receiver; and providing wiredfunctionality and wireless functionality at the receiver.
 8. The methodof claim 7, further comprising: connecting the sender to a data source;and interfacing the first portion of the client to a host included onthe sender with a wired link.
 9. The method of claim 7, furthercomprising connecting the receiver to a display.
 10. The method of claim7, the first portion of the client and the second portion of the clientare distinct portions of the same client.
 11. An apparatus forcommunicating wirelessly over a traditional wired link, comprising: atransmitter comprising a host and a first portion of a client, the hostand the first portion of the client are connected by a wired link; and areceiver comprising a second portion of the client.
 12. The apparatus ofclaim 11, the host of the transmitter, comprising: a query module thatdetermines an operation rate based in part on a rate supported by amedium access control and a retransmission statistic; and an assignermodule that assigns a communication to a wired protocol or a wirelessprotocol.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, the operation rate is alsodetermined based on a rate of the wireless link.
 14. The apparatus ofclaim 11, the second portion of the client, comprising a notifier modulethat sends a notification of an application data rate.
 15. The apparatusof claim 11, the transmitter is connected to a data source and thereceiver is connected to an interface device.
 16. The apparatus of claim11, the transmitter and receiver operate in one of a low overhead modeand a low latency mode.
 17. A mobile device for communicating over awired link or a wireless link, comprising: means for receiving anoperation rate for a communication; means for communicating over awireless link; means for communicating over a wired link; and means forselectively determining whether to utilize the wireless link or thewired link based in part on the received operation rate.
 18. Theapparatus of claim 17, the means for selectively determining whether toutilize the wireless link or the wired link based in part on thereceived operation rate can further determine whether to switch betweenthe wireless link and the wired link.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, theswitch between the wireless link and the wired link can occur during asingle communication.
 20. A method for communicating in a low-overheadmode with a wired link or a wireless link, comprising: placing forwardlink data in a buffer; requesting unidirectional channel timeallocations (CTAs); and sending the forward link data.
 21. The method ofclaim 20, further comprising: placing reverse link data in a buffer;requesting reverse direction CTAs; sending reverse link data; andcommunicating data to a host in a reverse encapsulation packet.
 22. Amethod for communicating in a low-latency mode through either a wiredlink or a wireless link, comprising: requesting a CTA for m msec in aforward direction; requesting a CTA for n msec in a reverse direction;and comparing the forward direction CTA to the reverse direction CTA.23. The method of claim 22, further comprising: sending reverse linkdata during CTAs reserved for a reverse direction; deriving a timeduration of a medium access control frame.
 24. A computer readablemedium having computer-executable instructions for: contacting a hostfor an application data rate that the host provides; calculating a roundtrip delay; determining a forward link rate and a reverse link ratebased in part on the calculated round trip delay; and ascertaining anoperation rate based in part on the determined forward link rate andreverse link rate.
 25. The computer readable medium of claim 24, furtherhaving computer-executable instructions for sending the operation rateto a receiver.
 26. The computer readable medium of claim 24, furtherhaving computer-executable instructions for: determining a lowest rateof the forward link rate, the reverse link rate, the application datarate that, the host provides, and a maximum capacity of a client;designating the determined lowest rate as the operation rate; andsending the operation rate to a receiver.
 27. A processor that executesinstructions for communicating over a wired link or a wireless link, theinstructions comprising: receiving a communication operation rate; andselectively determining whether to communicate over a wired link or awireless link based in part on the received communication operationrate.